Karur-Salem spl train extended till February

THE Karur - Salem - Karur Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) passenger service has been extended from November 5 to February 4 next year. The Salem division of Southern Railway had on May 10 announced DEMU passenger special trains with train numbers 06833 and 06834 between Karur and Salem via Namakkal. The train reaches the destinations stopping at eight intermediate stations. The division announced the operation of special trains after huge demand from passengers travelling back and forth mainly from the intermediate stations. Passengers from Van-gal, Namakkal, Puduchatram, Rasipuram and other places are dependent on this train as they commute daily for their jobs. The Salem division had earlier informed about the temporary cancellation of Karur-Salem passenger special train which was suspended owing to a line block.

It was told that due to electrification works under process between Karur- Namakkal- Salem section, the passenger train service was can-celled from October 19 till November 4. In the wake of overwhelming response from commuters, the train resumed its service from November 5. Karur Junction station manager Surendra Babu told Express, "Southern Railway usually introduces new trains only for a short time to test out the reception and based on the response makes it permanent. The test is carried out for three months in three different stages. In the case of the Karur-Salem passenger special train, the train has already come out in flying colours in the past two test runs from May to October. The final run began from today (Monday). So after looking at the end result in Feb ruary, the train will be made permanent." While Karur was already left out with no special trains for Deepavali season, the LED dis-play board that has been dys-functional for a long time proves a hindrance for passen-gers during rush hours. Also, the metal detector device is also lying dormant at the station entrance.

Source :epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/33763996